The history of Halloween in Japan

With a rather complicated history, the origins of Halloween can be traced back to various Celtic festivals, most notably the Gaelic festival Samhain, which was later incorporated into the Western Christian tradition with All Saints' Day and later developed into the recognizable holiday. in the north. America beginning in the 1930s and spread to many other places in the world since then.

But what about Japan? Like many other holidays that originate outside of the country, Halloween in Japan has its own peculiarities that make it unique. In this article, we will cover the introduction of Halloween to Japan and how the popular holiday is celebrated in the land of the rising sun. Don't be too scared, let's get started!

Theme Parks Foundation

While there were probably smaller cultural exchanges beforehand, Halloween wasn't first properly introduced to Japanese pop culture until 2000 with an event at Tokyo Disneyland. This was soon followed by similar celebrations at other popular theme parks such as Sanrio Puroland and Universal Studios Japan and has since become well known across the country. These parks, and others, still host big Halloween events every year, but the holiday is no longer strictly centered around them.

What about Obon?

Those familiar with Japanese culture may be familiar with Obon, a Japanese Buddhist holiday that revolves around the return of ancestral spirits to their homes for their annual visit to celebrate and reunite with their living relatives. While for some people Obon is also a time for telling ghost stories, lighting lanterns, and visiting haunted places, which would seem a natural connection to Halloween, these similarities are only superficial, and in fact the holidays are not related or celebrated. at the same time. time (Obon is usually in July or August, depending on the region).

Halloween is for Cosplay!

Japan is obviously no stranger to costumes with its well-developed cosplay culture, so it's no surprise that the focus of Halloween in Japan is definitely getting into character with festive outfits. This is where some differences arise. Halloween in Japan is more adult-focused and trick-or-treating, for the most part, just doesn't happen. Instead, Halloween in Japan primarily involves teens and adults dressing up in costumes and going out on the streets for large public parties, drinking and eating with their friends, and generally "loosing it" in a way that capitalizes on the mischievous aspect of the holiday. Candy and other sweets are still around, of course, as is jack-o'-lantern carving, but with the twist that most pumpkins are purple instead of orange due to the species usually grown. in Japan.

Trash, gangsters and party backlash

Unfortunately, Halloween has also generated quite a bit of controversy, particularly over how these street events have created massive amounts of litter from candy wrappers, drink containers, fake blood spills, and even discarded costumes, which has become quite a headache. for locals accustomed to Japan's usual cleanliness. Fortunately, many people have started volunteer cleanup groups to help with the problem.

A strange phenomenon involves Japan's organized crime syndicates, known as the yakuza. One of the largest yakuza organizations, Yamaguchi-gumi, has reportedly been regularly handing out generous bags of candy at its headquarters on Halloween to kids who wanted them. Although arguably a publicity stunt, the yakuza have had a long history of charitable work, including assisting victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake when it hit Kobe.

Despite the commercial backlash, the trash generated, the sometimes rowdy behavior associated with the holiday, and more, Halloween seems to grow in popularity every year and is likely to remain a part of modern Japanese pop culture for years to come. . It's definitely exciting to see so many people applying their cosplay skills to creating elaborate creepy outfits and hanging out together, so hopefully the modern tradition can continue with less crap and more fun in the future.

As always, we hope you've enjoyed this article! Would you like to be in Japan for Halloween? Let us know your own thoughts in the comments section below.